Reality Check

by Sophie Martin

  As pixies were usually very careful in their choice of sexual partners and very often remained virgins right until their mating, it wasn’t a surprise that their bodies couldn’t handle such sudden changes, from not producing any dust to having it harvested on a more-than-daily basis. Their bodies got used to it and then felt the need to produce the same amount all the time. When they were deprived of it, rescued pixies went into shock or sometimes suffered from symptoms similar to drug withdrawal. It was a grueling process, and from what Jim remembered, not many of those pixies actually survived. The only ones he could remember were those that either already had a mate who could help them through the withdrawal or found a mate shortly after being rescued.

  For that reason, Jim was terrified for his brother. There was no telling how soon his kidnappers discovered Timiny was a pixie and how fast after that started harvesting his dust. But one thing was certain, there wasn’t much time for Tim to become used to producing too much dust if he wasn’t already. They had to save him, and Jim saw no other option than go to Tyler. The police wouldn’t be of any help and Ty was the only paranormal besides Dominic of whom Jim knew in this world. It seemed that the fey wars from over a century previous affected not only fey but also paranormals on the other side of the veil. They were far scarcer now than what Jim heard from his parents of before war times. And because of that, the tiger was Jim’s only hope as Dominic still insisted to be merely human. Jim didn’t want to fight with the man over that. They had more important things to do.

  Dominic was very much against the idea of going to Ty for help, but Jim managed to convince him otherwise. For some unknown reason, Dom took an instant dislike to Tyler even though he knew the man only from Jim’s stories. Still, after a week of trying to find any other solution, Dominic yielded and agreed to drive to Ty’s new place.

  It was then that Jim realized with a surprise that Tyler’s new place of living was barely one town over from Dom’s apartment. It spoke of Jim’s state of mind that he hadn’t realized it all through the month since their phone call. Now, though, they were approaching the nice suburban area where the tiger lived with his two housemates and Jim couldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat, anxious to see his friend as well as to ask for assistance. He could only hope Tyler agreed to help them. He had no idea what they’d do if the tiger said no.

  * * * *

  Jim was extremely nervous, standing on the front step of Tyler’s new house and waiting for his friend to answer the door. He was so nervous, as a matter of fact, that he not only pressed the doorbell repeatedly but also banged on the door. He wasn’t really aware he was doing it before he caught himself with his fist in the air and dropped it suddenly, restraining himself. Sure, he was stressed and fidgety, but it wasn’t a reason for breaking someone’s front door.

  It didn’t take long for somebody to hear the ruckus he made and get to the door to answer it. Jim heard his friend’s deep, rumbling voice through the thick wood of the door.

  “It better be something really important or I’m gonna be one pissed kitty!” Tyler half-shouted just before the door opened and the tiger met Jim’s gaze with a scowl. “What’re ya doing here, fairy boy?” Tyler greeted him with the joking insult they always exchanged. Unfortunately, Dominic wasn’t aware of the joking part and Jim heard a growl from behind him. A sudden “oh, shit!” moment made Jim turn and slap his new friend’s chest with a pet name slipping out of his mouth without any conscious thought.

  “It’s okay, sweet. He doesn’t mean anything by it,” he said, not even realizing the endearment was there until after a moment, and by then, it was too late to take it back. Dominic didn’t seem to mind, though. He did have a rather combative stance and a fierce scowl on his face when he glared at Ty.

  “He insulted you, Jiminy. I told you it was not a good idea,” Dom said even as he pulled Jim closer to himself as if trying to keep him from whatever threat he perceived.

  “It wasn’t an insult, sweet, just teasing. He calls me fairy and I call him a tomcat or pussy. It’s just a normal teasing between friends. Isn’t that right, Ty?” Jim was trying really hard to calm Dominic down. He now regretted telling the detective all about how offensive it was to fey, being called a fairy. “I’m not a damned Tinkerbell,” Timiny used to say, and Jim had told that to Dom.

  Now he wished he explained the mock insults they used to exchange with the tiger, as well. But it couldn’t be helped now, and Jim only wished Dominic listened to him. He even stopped regretting using the term of endearment again. Anything that helped him calm the PI was good. He could still feel Dominic’s tension behind him, even as he looked at Ty for his answer. The tiger abandoned his scowl and now looked a bit lost instead. Still he answered.

  “Sure thing, bro.” He waved them in. “Why don’t we continue this fascinating conversation inside?” he asked.

  Jim could feel the fluttering of his wings making his shirt move even as he entered Tyler’s new house. They followed the tiger into what seemed to be a kitchen. As soon as they entered, a sudden gasp sounded from inside the room, followed by a young voice.

  “Wow, you must be Timmy’s brother. You really do look alike.” A young man with somewhat Slavic face features rushed to greet them. There was a second before his words truly registered with Jim. When they did, he had no idea what to say and looked at Ty for help. The tiger seemed to sense it and said, “Jim, meet my good friend Toby. Toby was held by the same man who kidnapped your brother. Toby, this is, as you already guessed, Jiminy Jones, Tim’s twin brother.” Jim outstretched his hand to greet the slim young man, but he apparently had another idea and surprised him by rushing to Jim’s side and hugging him.

  I’m so sorry that I couldn’t help Timmy. I hope you find him soon. He doesn’t belong in such an awful place. He is too nice and kind,” the boy said in a watery voice, apparently very close to crying. At first, Jim was stiff in the surprise embrace, but then he let go of his reservations and hugged Toby back.

  “Are you sure we’re talking about the same person? ‘Cause the brother I know is surly and ornery like hell and can curse better than a sailor,” he found himself joking. Toby smiled and answered in somehow lighter voice.

  “Well, you do have a point there. He sure taught me some great new swear words when we were in that warehouse.” The exchange made the tension in the room mostly disappear, with the exception of Dominic’s still and reserved figure behind Jim. Jiminy knew Dominic was very apprehensive about coming here, and his instant dislike of Ty even before he meet him was somewhat of a surprise for Jim. Still, he had no idea how to ease the man’s worries. Fortunately, Ty’s other roommate intervened.

  “Hi, I’m Jason Thorne, and this is my house.” He greeted Dominic with an outstretched hand, but as Jim looked at him, he couldn’t contain a shiver. The man’s face was blank, absolutely expressionless, and not in a poker-face kind of way. No, it was different. It was as if the man was a statue, moving and talking, but a statue nonetheless.

  “Dominic Sawyer.” Dom’s voice brought him back from his dark musings. Jim knew that the detective wasn’t a man of many words, so he wasn’t surprised he didn’t say anything else.

  “So, can we sit down and talk?” Tyler asked, pointing to the kitchen table. “Jim, I know you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. So why don’t we sit at the table, drink some coffee and listen to what brought you here, hmm?” Jim was more than ready to tell them the reason for his visit. The worry for his brother that got pushed to the back of his mind for just a moment when he greeted Tyler’s friends came rushing back and flooding him to the point that he felt like he was drowning.

  They all sat at the table, the anxiousness almost overwhelming Jim. He hadn’t realized his wings started to flutter once again until Dominic placed his warm hand in the middle of his back in a gesture of comfort. Jim shot him a grateful look and tried to concentrate on his tiger friend.

  “Okay,” said Tyler, “spill. What brought you here?”

 
Chapter Six

  Dominic put his hand on Jim’s back without thinking. It was a gesture of comfort, but as well served to steady the fluttering of the fey’s wings. The last two weeks that he spent with Jiminy had definitely changed his outlook on life. He had learned more about the fey while working on finding Jim’s brother. He also heard some more about paranormals in general. All in all, he got one huge reality check. All he knew about the world was a lie. Secrets, bigger than anything he could expect, were hidden from humans, and yet Jim stubbornly insisted that Dominic should have known about them, that he was a paranormal himself. Dominic didn’t know what to believe anymore.

  Surely, he’d have realized there was something different about him by now. True, he was extraordinarily healthy, and from what Jim said, all paranormals were rarely sick, but that proved nothing. There were plenty of humans who were healthy as well. He never had any animal urges, from what he could tell, and never felt the need to turn into a wolf or whatever it was that Jim thought him to be. There was simply no way that he was a shifter.

  And yet a small sliver of doubt niggled at him. Since his fateful meeting with the fey, he had started feeling different. He felt stronger, his senses were sharper, and there was something in him, something hidden deep inside of him, which was getting stronger, bolder with each passing day. He didn’t tell Jim that. There was no reason to worry the already-stressed fey. But that thing, that weird part of Dominic, reared its ugly head when they stood on Jim’s tiger friend’s front step.

  That part of him didn’t want Jim anywhere near Tyler. It wanted to keep the pretty fey to himself and felt threatened by the tiger-shifter. He couldn’t help himself. Every time Jim spoke about his friendship with Tyler, he had an insane urge to scoot the fey in his arms, carry him to Dom’s bedroom, and show him he belonged to Dominic, not some stupid tiger. He knew it was irrational, knew it made him seem insane, but he simply couldn’t stop it. That little growly part of him didn’t care about logic, propriety, or manners. All it cared about was keeping what it deemed Dominic’s to itself.

  Dom realized that talking about himself in third person wasn’t a good sign. But he couldn’t help it. That new part of him seemed strange in a way, alien. He couldn’t identify with it. But knowing how important it was for Jim to find his brother as soon as possible, Dominic decided not to tell him about this new part. He succeeded in controlling it for a main part.

  But the closer they got to the tiger’s house, the louder that thing got. It growled at Dominic’s consciousness, urging him to turn the car back go to his apartment and hide Jim from anyone who could want to take him away from Dominic. He didn’t. Instead, he gritted his teeth and drove to Tyler Rhodes’s new house and then stood on its doorstep, waiting while Jim repeatedly pressed the doorbell and banged his fist on the door. Dominic understood how stressed and worried the little fey was, and so he didn’t stop these frantic actions.

  As soon as the door opened, though, and a tall, handsome man stood in there, scowling, that little part of him grew suddenly much bigger and directed his behavior. He heard the man insulting Jim and nearly lost it then and there. He did stop himself from attacking Tyler, but couldn’t help making a threatening growl toward him. He didn’t want to be there. He didn’t want this stupid tiger anywhere near Jiminy. Jim was his to protect!

  Dominic barely managed to behave civilly when the man invited them inside. It was good he had so much self-restraint though because as soon as they entered the kitchen another man rushed to Jim’s side. From what Dominic managed to gather from the younger boy’s rambling, he was the one who knew Timiny, and pointed them in the right direction to find him. The boy looked awfully young and innocent to have been a slave, but it had to be true since he recognized Jiminy from first sight. Dominic just stood there, still as a statue, all his strength dedicated to keeping that little part of himself in check. It would probably be awkward if he wasn’t so concentrated on self-control. Before he could wonder on it more, another man approached him with an outstretched hand and Dominic had to redirect his focus.

  “Hi, I’m Jason Thorne, and this is my house,” said the man whose emotionless expression reminded Dominic of a sociopath. That man looked like he had no conscience, no feelings, nothing inside of him at all. Dominic didn’t like it and that new part of him liked it even less. It got immediately wary and sized the man for a potential threat. Even as he answered, giving his own name, that little new thing gave him an answer as to the size of a threat. Enormous! it whispered inside Dominic’s brain. Beware!

  After that, they were sitting at the kitchen table and Jim was telling the three men the reason for their visit. Dominic noticed the fluttering of his fey’s wings and put his hand in the middle of Jim’s back in a calming gesture. It worked and Jim could tell them all they learned up till now.

  “Yes, well…” said Jim, not knowing how to start. Then he addressed Jason. “I’m sorry for invading your home’s peace in this way, but I was desperate,” he started. The scarily emotionless man answered.

  “So, I understand that you’re the fey looking for his missing brother, right? The one that was kept by the same vampire that captured Tyler and held Toby?”

  “Vampire?” Dominic thought he was somehow acquainted with the paranormal world by now, what with Jim’s constant tales and all. He was wrong. He wasn’t prepared for that. “There are vampires?”

  “Well, I told you, sweet…” said Jiminy, turning to him and using that little endearment that made the new little part of Dominic happy as a clam.

  “‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ Yeah, yeah, I know.” Dominic repeated Jim’s favorite phrase from Shakespeare’s play. He would say it all over again when Dominic expressed his astonishment with some paranormal stuff Jim told him. Still, vampires? “But vampires?” he couldn’t help saying. “Seriously?”

  “Well, what can I tell you is that’s the first I’ve heard of one, too. Some elders said they met them centuries ago, but…” Jim answered, but was interrupted by Tyler.

  “Let’s not discuss existence of vampires now, okay? Let’s get back to the reason you’re here,” he said curtly, and Dominic shot him a dirty look. He couldn’t help it. He simply disliked the guy.

  “Yeah, right. So we came here because we think we found Tim. And we need your help, Tyler, getting him out,” Jim said

  “Would you care to elaborate?” asked the homeowner in his creepy, toneless voice.

  “Um, yes.” Dominic couldn’t fault Jim for being uncomfortable with the guy, so he decided to overlook when the fey addressed Tyler instead. “With Dominic’s help, I was able to narrow the possible places where Tim can be kept to three. But during our investigation, we came to believe that the local police are somehow involved in this whole dirty business. So we can’t go to them, obviously. And I’m no fighter, so Dominic would have to go on his own, and it’s dangerous. So I thought with your help, you could shift in the middle of this whole mess and simply scare the living shit out of them. That would provide distraction and Dominic could then grab Tim and get away.”

  Dominic watched the hopeful expression on Jim’s face and felt his heart squeezing. He so wished he could help the young fey on his own. But it was beyond him. Human trafficking, paranormal creatures, and hell, he just learned there were real-life vampires in the world. He was helpless in this strange new world and he knew it. He turned to look at Tyler and what he saw there didn’t give him much hope that their farfetched plan would be accepted. He was right. Jason Thorne answered Jim.

  “Jim, I’m sure you fear for your brother and want him home as soon as possible, but I’m afraid it’s not as easy as you seem to think. First of all, I don’t know if Tyler mentioned it to you, but he was captured when in his tiger form. We are talking several different paranormals here, jumping him all at once. Second, if you don’t know in which of these three places your brother is, then creating chaos in one of them would only alarm the
others, and if your brother wasn’t in the first one, the other two would be prepared for your arrival. I think you need a better plan.”

  Dominic couldn’t help but notice that the man’s expression changed somehow. Sure, he wasn’t overtly sympathetic, but the stony-cold sociopath turned into a human being right before his eyes. Dominic was glad. It let him release some of the nervous tension that kept his body ready for an attack. It had to be an instinctual reaction, and now he could relax a bit. He looked to Jim and saw that the fey was one step from coming unglued.

  “Oh my god, you’re right, you’re so right. I’m sorry, Ty. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s just that I’m so desperate to get Tim back. I can sense there is something wrong with him and it only increased lately. I don’t know what it is, but of one thing I’m sure. We don’t have much time. I just…I can’t send Dominic alone there, and I couldn’t think of anyone else but you Ty. You’re so fierce and all, and I’m just so lost right now…” Dominic once again didn’t know what to do, how to help. Fortunately, the man spoke again.

  “I did not say we won’t help you, Jim. I only said you needed a better plan. Let me talk to Tyler and Toby alone for a moment and we’ll be back with you in just a minute. Maybe we can give you some better solution then.” All three of them then proceeded to leave the kitchen as they went to discuss the whole thing. Dominic and Jim were left alone.